Let's
get something straight right up front: Chasing down unarmed people and
shooting them in the back probably does not meet the legal standard of
self-defense in any jurisdiction of the United States.

That said, whether
the slaying of six Wisconsin deer hunters and the wounding of two others
on Nov. 21 was precipitated by shots fired at accused killer Chai Soua
Vang, or whether he initiated the Sunday massacre unprovoked is up for
the prosecutors, defense counsel and a jury to sort out.

Meanwhile, some in
the media and a couple of national gun control organizations would be
well advised to refrain from turning this ugly incident into a game of
political football. Alas, it did not take long – some might even
observe the victims weren't even cold yet – before the hysterics
began. Asking whether gun control zealots "have no shame" is
wasted breath.

The Violence Policy
Center, hardly a bastion of credibility on firearms issues, rushed to
alarm the public that the SKS rifle allegedly used by Vang can "expel
projectiles at velocities that are capable of penetrating the type of
soft body armor typically worn by…law enforcement officers."

Of course that's
true. Every bullet commonly used in centerfire hunting rifles of all calibers
can do that, and the VPC knows it. Soft body armor is primarily designed
to stop handgun bullets. This is why gun rights organizations traditionally
oppose legislation to ban so-called "armor-piercing bullets."
Such legislation, if enacted, would ban ammunition for every hunting rifle
on the planet, which, of course, would delight the extremists at the VPC.

Besides, this case
had nothing to do with the police, and none of the victims was wearing
soft body armor. The argument has no relevance.

The Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun Violence also danced through the blood, declaring that
SKS rifles "should be banned for civilian use." Twisting
remarks attributed to Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general
counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, on the pages of the
New York Times, the Brady Bunch contended the SKS is not suitable for
deer hunting because it fires an "underpowered" cartridge.
Keane subsequently told me the comments he made to a Times reporter were
taken somewhat out of context, and I believe him. Larry Keane never employed
Jayson Blair.

Ironically, perhaps
laughably if it were not associated with such a tragic event, the gun
control crowd can't keep its rhetoric straight. An editorial writer at
The Capital Times in Madison went on a rant about the SKS, not because
it is "underpowered," but because it is "a
high-powered semiautomatic…carbine." The writer also erroneously
sneered that "Semiautomatic weapons are increasingly popular
among hunters of a not particularly sporting ilk."

Since neither the
gun control fanatics, nor a journalist who should have checked before
writing, seem to know what they're talking about, here are some facts.

The 7.62x39mm is
ballistically similar to the .30-30 Winchester, a cartridge that has been
used successfully in the Wisconsin deer woods for more than a century.
On the power scale, it's something of a weak sister to the more popular
.308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield or .300 Winchester Magnum.

SKS rifles are popular
among thousands of responsible upper Midwest sportsmen and women, including
– by his own admission to the Eau Clair Leader-Telegram –
some hunting partners of Sawyer County Sheriff James Meier. Long before
the SKS came along, Remington, Winchester and other gun makers marketed
semi-auto hunting rifles early in the last century. That "ilk"
of ethical hunters spans generations.

That the victims
of this crime "had access to guns and knew how to use them"
as an editorial whined, is also irrelevant. When the shooting started,
it appears only one of the victims was actually armed. Besides, these
people used their firearms for hunting. They had no idea they were walking
into a deadly confrontation.

Keep this in perspective:
The Wisconsin case is about six alleged homicides and two
attempted murders. It is not about gun politics, and it should not be
shamelessly exploited toward that agenda. Let's focus on prosecuting one
individual for a horrible crime, not penalizing a million gun owners for
the rifles they own.